Sexual assault stuns campus and neighbors by Brian Parker Editor-in-Chief On Wednesday September 20th, at approximately 7:45am a young woman parked her car near 6 Schussler Road and began walking on the sidewalk towards Institute Road. She was immediately pulled through a hedge area near 6 Schussler Road and was sexually assaulted. She gave the following descrip tion on her assailant: black male, 6 feet - 2 inches tall, 300 + pounds, approximately 30 years of age, bald head, tattoo of a cross on his left forearm, wearing blue jeans and a short sleeve shirt. The suspect fled the area on foot, through back yards
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As it is not know if the suspect will and W P I Police are available to all towards West Street. act again it is advisable to be aware students, regardless of their location The incident was reported to the of your surroundings and to know on or off campus. Both of these Worcester Police Department and the location of the emergency phones services have become more and more there is enough evidence to corrobo on campus. One should also rate the woman’s story. It try to stay in open areas and is not known if a weapon away from shrubs, as attack was used during the at "Stud ents should tra ve l in groups and stay ers often repeat a method of tack. in w ell traveled areas, sometimes il is a good operation. The fact that this oc Chief Hanlon also pointed idea not to take the shortest route to yo u r curred in broad daylight is out that there are personal shocking and W P I Police d estin atio n. " alarms available for approxi Chief Hanlon gives the fol -( h ie j H anlo n, H /*/ P o lice mately $ 12 to $20 that have a lowing advice. “ Students panic button and they make a should travel in groups and lot of noise which gets atten stay in well traveled ar tion. Whistles are also a good idea to popular in the past few years, as 3 eas, sometimes it is a good idea not carry in case of an emergency. One years ago approximately 250 escorts to take the shortest route to your should also be careful to secure their were completed per year and cur destination.” living area, whether it is the dorm or rently the number is closer to 2000. Another reminder is that SNaP
an off-campus apartment. In response to the attack, both W PD and W P I Police have stepped up their patrols in and around the campus area. The police are asking that everyone be aware of this crime of opportunity and to alter their be haviors in such a way that it will not happen again. The escort service can be accessed by calling 831-5433 or 5270 and suspicious persons, vehicles or ac tivity should be reported to the po lice by calling W P D at 911 or W P I Police at 831-5433. If you have any information concerning this crime, you are requested to contact the W PD Detective Bureau (799-8651) and confidentiality is assured.
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The Student Newspaper of Worcester Polytechnic Institute
N e w u pe a k
26,, 1995 ^ V o l uVolume m e Twenty-three Twenty-three,, Number Nineteen Tuesday, September 26
Two more days until Sacco’s big trip! by Brian Parker Editor-in-Chief On Thursday, September 28, from 7:00am until the launch itself, members of the W PI community will gather in Alden Memorial to watch Chemical Engineering Professor Albert Sacco Jr. lift-off on the space shunle Columbia The orbiter is scheduled to launch at 9:35am and the mission is to have a duration of 15 days, 21 hours and 54 minutes, bringing Sacco and his crewmates back to earth at 7:30am on October 14. The second United States Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) Spaceiab mission will be the centerpiece of the STS-73 space shuttle flight, as it combines the efforts of the U.S. govern ment, universities and industry “ to push back the frontiers of science and tech nology in microgravity.” Some of the experiments being carried on the USML2 payload were suggested by the results of the first U SM L mission that flew aboard Columbia in 1992 during mis sion STS-50. The USML-1 mission provided new insights into theoretical models of fluid physics, the role of grav ity in combustion and flame spreading, and how gravity affects the formation of semiconductor crystals. It is also con sidered to have been one of the most successful NASA science missions. The experiments being carried as part
of the USML-2 payload cover a variety of scientific disciplines including fluid physics, materials science, biotechnol ogy and combustion science. Also dur ing the mission, students at four sites will interact with Columbia’s astronauts to discuss and compare onboard microgravity experiments with similar ground-based experiments. The goal is to involve students as participants in Shuttle investigations in an effort to gen erate excitement in physical science and chemistry. Students at South High School in Worcester were selected to participate in the second live downlink, which is scheduled for the 13th day of the flight and they will discuss fluid experiments. The flight will be the 18th flight of space shuttle Columbia and the 72nd flight of the space shuttle system. The USML-2 experiment racks are housed in a 23-foot Spaceiab module inside the shuttle’s cargo bay. The laboratory is pressurized, which will allow “ research ers to work in their shirtsleeves.. and it is furnished with much of the same kind of equipment that they would use in their labs back home.” Materials science research in the crys tal growth furnace and zeolite crystal growth experiment will increase insight into the relationships between the struc ture, processing and properties of mate rials. Mixtures that separate on Earth because of different component densi
ties can be evenly mixed and processed in microgravity. Dr. Sacco will continue a series of experiments investigating the formation of zeolite crystals, which are widely used in the chemical process industry as filters, catalysts for reactions and purifi ers. Zeolitescan act as “molecular sieves” to separate out specific molecules from solutions. They also are used in life support systems, petroleum refining, waste management and in the biomedi cal field for purification of fluids. By using the Zeolite Crystal Growth (ZCG) furnace, it is hoped that a better under standing can be gained of the structure of the crystals, through growing large, near perfect crystals in microgravity. Forty-four zeolite sample containers (autoclaves) will be processed during the mission. Each container will be loaded with two solutions - one alumi num-based and one silicone-based. A crew member will mix the solutions in orbit by turning a screw inside each separate sample container. The contain ers will then be placed in the ZCG fur nace where they will be heated, allowing crystallization to begin. ZCG flew forthe first time on USML1 and results from that flight indicate that crystals whose nucleation and growth were controlled from the onset of the experiment achieved a higher degree of crystal perfection than any crystals proSee Sacco, continued on page 3
AL SACCO . J R
What’s new in WPI Theater
Class of 1996 got their goat by Jesse Parent Class o f 1996 It was early Monday morning when six members of the senior class got to gether with the intention of stealing the Goat’s Head trophy. The news was out. The original Goat’s Head had been re cast, and while the old one was to be retired and kept for its historical value, the newly cast version was planned to be recirculated into the W PI community in the hopes of reviving the Goat’s Head tradition in a safe and fun manner. That was our plan, too... but the difference was that it would be from us, the stu dents, and not the administration. The man (we’ll call him Gompei) who was bringing the pair of goats was due for a meeting in Higgins House at approximately 9AM, and that’s where we waited for him. One member of our
class was waiting in the parking lot, another in a bush by the door, while the rest waited in the getaway car. It was the perfect plan... we hoped. At 8:55AM, Gompei arrived in his car with the brazen pair. Our man in the parking lot saw him and rushed to his car, knowing that the two would be in his back seat, and attempted to open the passenger side rear door. It was locked. Gompei just looked inquisitively at our classmate, who sighed and left. The classmate in the bushes had gotten para noid and went inside to make sure Gompei hadn’t somehow snuck in, and then waited at the front door for him. Two of the seniors who were wait ing in the getaway car saw Gompei pull in and went up to watch the stealing, but the original two were nowhere to be found. So, when Gompei crossed the parking lot, a goat under each arm, the
SGA Letters o f C andidacy See page 7 )
by Jennx Yambert News Editor
new pair seized the opportunity... and the goats. With one member of our class on each goat, Gompei had no chance to hold on as they grabbed them and ran to the car, leaving Gompei unharmed but clearly flustered at the kid-napping (kid, goat... get it?!?). Out of respect for the traditions of the school, we returned the old one so that it could be safely stored away, but the new one was to be introduced at Homecoming by our class (look for that, boys and girls). So the old goat was returned, but not necessarily as it was. It had gained an addition of a “9” and a “ 6” , etched triumpantly on each butt cheek. If any members of the class of ’96 have some ideas for creative ways to “ show” the goat (perhaps at Homecom ing), please email those ideas to briank@wpi.edu.
The Drama and Theater division of W P I’s Humanities and Arts Depart ment is expanding its scope. No longer is it simply a place for people to explore their theatrical interests. It is now a place where students can develop those interests into a career (with a little help from other departments). Admittedly, there is not yet an isolated “Theater Technology” major, but students can find ways to focus their studies in the ater tech. It is hoped that interest in theater tech will continue and grow with the development of new courses, and that the near future will see a full theater technology program at WPI. There are several ways to get “the ater technology” as a major. There is a Theater Technology Double Major, where a technology major is expanded upon by an extra focus on theater. A student could also create a theater tech
nology major through the Interdiscipli nary and Global Studies Department (IGSD). There aren’t enough classes yet for the Humanities and Arts De partment to offer its own major in the ater technology, but by working through the IGSD a major is formed by combin ing theater and other technical classes. A third way to focus on theater technol ogy is to go through the Humanities and Arts Department as a Humanities Literature major with a focus in theater tech. After only one year of offering these different routes into theater technol ogy, there are already five students working to graduate in that field ( 3 double majors, 1 Humanities Litera ture major, and 1 Interdisciplinary major). Theater and Drama Professor Susan Vick is very impressed with the turnout so far, and says that it is “ pretty phenomenal” to have gained so much interest in such a new program. Of See Theater, continued on page 2
Table of C on ten ts News...........................................................................2, 3 World News.................................................................... 2 Sports............................................................................. 3 Arts & Entertainment..................................................... 5 E d ito rial.........................................................................6 Commentary.......................................................... 6, 7 ,11 Student Government Association.....................................7 V ___________________________________ ____________________________________
Letter to the Editor......................................................... 7 Club C om er.................................................................. 8 Greek Com er.................................................................9 Announcements........................................................... 10 Classifieds................................................................... 11 Police L o g ................................................................... 12 What’s Happening